Habs' streak snapped by Senators

Canadiens remain in eighth in the Eastern ConferenceMark Streit, despite being watched closely by Antoine Vermette, scored his 10th goal of the season Friday night.

OTTAWA (CP) - Mike Fisher had two goals and an assist Friday night to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to climb back from an early deficit. Down 3-1, the Canadiens finished the last 64 seconds of the first period with a two-man advantage and had 56 seconds remaining on the power play at the start of the second, but could not convert.

"We need to play our game and we didn't do that tonight," Canadiens forward Steve Begin said. "They came out really hard and we made mistakes we don't usually make."

The Canadiens hold the eighth and final playoff spot, but the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes all remain within two points.

"We have no more breathing room," said Begin. "We have to take care of all the little details."

The win allowed the Senators (46-24-8) to post their fourth consecutive 100-point season.

Jason Spezza, Mike Comrie and Dany Heatley also scored for the Senators. Ray Emery, playing in his 100th career game, stopped 26 shots.

"I knew it was coming up, but I wasn't paying attention to it," said Emery. "I received a text message from my cousin before the game reminding me of it. It's exciting to have played that many games."

Fisher opened the scoring five minutes into the first period as he beat Halak to the glove side.

Spezza made it 2-0 less than two minutes later as his wrist shot caught Halak by surprise.

The Canadiens made it 2-1 as Souray scored a power-play goal from the point, but with less than two minutes remaining in the period Comrie put Ottawa ahead 3-1. Souray's goal was his 18th with the man advantage, tying the NHL record previously set by Denis Potvin and matched by Adrian Aucoin.

"They came out hard and we got behind the eight-ball early," said Montreal forward Michael Ryder. "We had to play catch up most of the game."

Montreal had a four-minute power play late in the second after Dany Heatley cut Souray with a high stick. But once again the Senators were able to hold off the Canadiens.

Montreal finished the game 1-for-6 with the man advantage, while Ottawa was 0-for-2.

"Our power play has been one of our strongest points," said Ryder. "We had the opportunities tonight, but just couldn't put the puck in the net."

With Montreal owning the most effective power-play in the league, the Senators knew special teams would be crucial.

"It was a really good test for us," said Chris Kelly, one of the Senators' top penalty killers. "I thought we did a good job. They came out hard and we were able to hold them off."

Streit brought the Canadiens to within a goal after scoring on a great pass from Maxim Lapierre.

Both Emery and Halak were solid in the third, giving the sellout crowd of 20,185 at Scotiabank Place plenty to cheer about.

"The crowd made it really exciting," said Fisher. "It was like a playoff atmosphere."

Fisher added some insurance late in the third with his second goal of the night. Heatley picked up his 47th of the season into the empty net to round out the scoring.

The Senators are back in action Saturday night against the Islanders while the Canadiens will look to bounce back against the Eastern Conference leading Buffalo Sabres.

Friday's game was the last between the two teams, with Ottawa winning the season series 5-3.